Smith and Perkins change their tune.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith and Kendrick Perkins have been two of Irving’s loudest detractors all season. On several occasions, the pair has criticized him over his refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
Last week, Kyrie Irving’s stellar performance against the Philadelphia 76ers got two of his most prominent critics talking him up (photo, NBA.com).
Irving still cannot play home games in Brooklyn but is allowed to take the floor in most NBA arenas around the United States. Of course, there are double standards at play here as visiting unvaccinated players are permitted to suit up in Brooklyn. Still, Nets fans will hope the mandates will change by the time the playoffs come around, with the authorities in New York now more relaxed over the situation.
Should Kyrie be able to play home games for Brooklyn, Steve Nash’s side will be considered a top contender for the NBA Championship. The Nets are no longer the betting favorites for the title, dropping down to third in that regard. Punters can snag odds of 11/2 on their prospects, and platforms such as Fanduel sportsbook in New York will be sure to have promotions on the Nets to welcome the postseason.
The Nets will have to make it there first. They’re currently eighth in the Eastern Conference and could be made to qualify via the NBA’s new Play-In tournament.
Anyhow, Irving played the Philadelphia 76ers last week and, with the point guard coming off a 50-point performance against the Charlotte Hornets, put in another solid outing for the Nets. This game was one of the most highly-anticipated headings last week, given the trade that saw James Harden switch from Brooklyn to Philly.
Harden and Kyrie were said to have had a frosty relationship – mostly due to Kyrie’s vaccination status and unavailability for most of the season – so they expected to make it an entertaining battle. It turned out to be quite the opposite, as Harden only scored 11 points.
The Nets ran out comfortable 129-100 winners as Irving took up the responsibility of keeping his former teammate quiet. Smith was quite unimpressed with Harden and ripped into him on the back of the lackluster performance. “The brother picked up James Harden from the opening tip. Tip-off time came, and Kyrie Irving was guarding James Harden,” the analyst noted. “They were getting in positions to double James, but Kyrie was like ‘getaway, I got him.’ All of this noise you’re hearing about what transpired between the two in practice may be true. I dismissed it until Thursday night. James Harden, this is not a good night for you. When you see somebody step up and go like this, ‘it’s you and me now, what’s up,’ Kyrie did that. Harden didn’t show up.”
It had been reported that Irving and James had a very intense one-on-one in practice while the latter was with the Nets before the source backtracked, yet it certainly appeared that there was no love lost between the two guards on Thursday.
While Irving rose to the challenge, Harden again struggled to come up with the goods during a big moment, which has plagued his career despite his remarkable numbers.
Perkins, meanwhile, has vowed he will never say anything negative about Kyrie again on the back of the performance.
“What I saw last night was Kyrie Irving. And I’m here right now to apologize to Kyrie Irving on national television and say that as long as I’m in the media, I would never repeat anything negative about Kyrie Irving,” the former NBA big man declared.
“The simple fact that he went out there and snatched James Harden’s soul defensively, the way that he picked him up full court. It made it true about the rumors that we heard about in their practices how Kyrie was going at James. Two, it just showed me a different level of Kyrie.
Kyrie has been quite sensational as of late, but he still can’t be with the team full time and will only play in four of their next 15 regular-season games should the status quo remain the same. The Nets could use him as they’re pushing to finish at least sixth in the East and avoid the previous tourney.
After scoring a win v. Orlando on Tuesday night, the All-Star guard will only be available to play versus the Memphis Grizzlies on March 23, the Miami Heat on March 26, and the Atlanta Hawks on April 2. The Nets will be playing the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on April 6, but Kyrie won’t be able to play because of the New York State health mandate.
